"The elephant strayed from its herd and lost its way from a nearby forest into Siliguri, creating panic in the town for nearly five hours," West Bengal state forest minister Binay Krishna Barman told AFP by phone.

"The animal knocked down nearly 100 houses and vehicles as it ran loose on the streets," he said.

People threw stones to try to drive away the elephant, before forest officials fired tranquillizer darts to bring it under control.